February is just around the corner! As we say goodbye to January (where did the time go?), let's not forget about those new year's resolutions we made at the beginning of 2024. Remember, no matter how hard things get, it’s never too late to begin again. You don’t always have to wait for the new year to try something new.
And what better way to transition to February than by celebrating love? Love for our friends, family, pets—and even a love for math!
Let’s face it though—math doesn’t always get the love it deserves. Many individuals experience math anxiety which can lead to poor math performance. By changing our attitudes about math, we can help reduce that anxiety!
Here at MIND, we love math and want students to feel the same way. As we like to say here, “Everyone is a math person!” So, we put together this roundup of radical math activities to help everyone feel the love this February!
Everything we do at MIND is grounded in neuroscience. To change how students feel about math, we asked ourselves: How do we learn math? Driving our research was the bold idea: What if math could be taught the way the brain learns? It’s worth taking a minute to explore the neuroscience at work.
How about boosting your class ST Math time by ten minutes each week? We have a few ideas we'd LOVE to share with you:
Consider scheduling a committed ST Math time block on two specific days of the week (e.g., Tuesdays and Thursdays).
Work with small groups of students while the rest of the class independently engages in ST Math time.
Start the day by using ST Math as a class warm up first thing in the morning.
When you’re in love, you want to shout it from the rooftops! We created this JiJi love note coloring sheet to help your students reflect on and share what they love about math. They can also use the writing space to say what they love about ST Math or JiJi.
Download the JiJi love note printable PDF
Looking for something a little more challenging? Try our coordinate graphing activity! What could the image be? Students will need to plot points and then connect the dots to reveal the surprise. After that, coloring is encouraged!
Download the coordinate graphing activity/instructions PDF
Download the teacher key PDF
Sure, this month we’re focusing on helping students build a love for math, but you didn’t think we’d forget our teachers, did you? We want the adults to get in on the fun too! Send some love with a JiJi gram! We’ve designed several “love notes” for you to choose from. Download one of the images below and post it to your favorite social media platform. Add a note of appreciation for a fellow teacher, administration member, or anyone else! Make sure to tag them in the post.
Download You're an Integral Part of Our School! Image
Download Will You Be My +1? Image
Download Hey Acute-y! Image
Download Dividing By Zero Image
If you use any of these activities in your classroom or at home, we would love to see it! Share your creation on social media and you might just get a response from JiJi. You can tag any of our accounts below or include #STMath.
We hope these activities help your students and you to feel the love and develop a whole new appreciation for math!
Victor Nguyen is MIND’s Content and Community Specialist. Victor is a passionate storyteller with a penchant for creative writing. In his free time, you can find him engrossed in books, going on long hikes, or trying to meditate.
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